Chapter 45

How to Tell God, ‘I Love You’

DID you know that someone loved you even before you were born?⁠— Well, you see we knew you were coming. Of course, we didn’t know what you would look like then. You were still growing inside your mother. But already your father and your mother were doing many things to show they loved you.

That’s why there were clothes for you to wear as soon as you were born. And there was a little bed for you to sleep in.

And, my, how happy your father and mother were when they finally saw you! They loved you then. And they love you now, very, very much. You love your father and mother, too, don’t you?⁠—

But now I am thinking of someone else who also loved you before you were born. Do you know who?⁠— It is Jehovah God. In fact, God loved all of us before we were born. Do you know how we know he did?⁠—

Because a long time ago God sent his Son to give his life for us. Also, God is going to make the earth a beautiful garden where we can live forever in happiness, if we really want to.

How does this make you feel toward God?⁠— It makes me love him very, very much. I want to serve him all my life. Do you?⁠—

But how can we tell God that?⁠— Jesus knew just how to tell God that. Listen while I tell you what he did.

One day he went to the Jordan River. John the Baptist was there. Jesus and John waded out into the water. The water was all the way up to their waists. Do you have any idea of what they were going to do?⁠—

The man put one of his arms around behind Jesus’ shoulders. He put Jesus all the way under the water for just a second and then lifted him out again. He baptized him. Why did he do that? Jesus asked the man to do it. But why? Do you know?⁠—

Jesus did it so that God would know that Jesus wanted to serve him all his life, yes, forever. But did God want Jesus to be put under the water that way?⁠— Yes, he did. How do we know?⁠—

Because when Jesus came up out of the water he heard a big voice from heaven say: ‘You are my Son whom I love. I am very pleased with you.’​—Mark 1:9-11.

What did Jesus do after this?⁠— Well, he started going around talking about God to everyone who would listen. He told them about God’s kingdom. He told them how they could live forever.

Some of the men and women believed what the Great Teacher taught them. But they felt sad. Do you know why?⁠—

Because they thought of many bad things they had done. They knew that God was not pleased with those things. They knew the Bible said those things were wrong. Now they wanted to be like Jesus and please God. So, do you know what they did?⁠—

They asked to be baptized just as Jesus had been baptized. They wanted to tell God that they loved him and that they wanted to serve him all their life.

We can do the same thing today. Of course, you are still growing up now. But you aren’t going to spend your whole life just growing up, are you?⁠— Of course not. Someday you’ll be grown up. What are you going to do then?⁠—

Will you be like Jesus?⁠— Will you do what the men and women who believed in Jesus did? Will you get baptized?⁠— If you do, you will be telling God that you love him. You will be telling him that you want to serve him all your life. I certainly hope you do that. And God will be very pleased if you do.

When a person is grown up, there are many things that he can do. Some people who are grown up live with their families. They work and earn money, and they buy things for their families. They buy clothes, food, furniture, even automobiles. This is nice. But is this the way to tell God that they love him? Is this the way to tell God that they want to serve him all their life?⁠—

Many of these people do not even want to listen when another person tries to talk to them about the Bible. They may not even read the Bible. Some of them hardly ever talk about God or the Great Teacher, not even to their children. Some of them may not even thank God for the food they eat, or talk to him in prayer at night. They do not really love God, do they?⁠— You wouldn’t want to grow up and be like them, would you?⁠— How sad that would be.

The Great Teacher talked about God to all sorts of people, including little children. He enjoyed talking about God and about the good things God will do for those who love him. He really meant it when he told God: ‘Father, I love you and I want to serve you forever.’ Learn all you can about the Great Teacher now while you’re young. Let your heart get filled with love for Jehovah God. Then you, too, will really mean it when you tell God: ‘I love you and I want to serve you forever.’

(Other texts you may read that show how we can prove our love for God are: Matthew 6:24-33; 24:14; 1 John 2:15-17; 5:3.)